


wouldn't it be nice?

by h0neycake



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), 5SOS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-15 11:30:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16062194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h0neycake/pseuds/h0neycake
Summary: girl meets boy. boy meets girl. girl and boy fall in love - but there's a catch. someone is in love with someone else, someone falls for someone else. love is complex - or is it?when natalie cipriano meets ashton irwin, everything in her life is changed forever.





	1. all i have to do is dream

I met him one beautiful summer day, when it was so hot and I was trying to desperately keep my ice cream from melting all over the sidewalk. 

It wasn't working very well. It was melting all over my fingers, making my hand sticky and I had orange creamsicle all over my mouth & on my white blouse. I was a mess, leaning against a stone wall in the shade created by a tree with dark green leaves drooping in front of me. I had sunglasses on my head, my sweaty hair tied with a scrunchie in a ponytail, blue denim shorts, and b&w checkered vans. 

I was so concerned about eating my ice cream before it completely melted that I didn't even care about how ugly I must've looked, and I should've, because that was the day I met my first love. 

He was walking with one of his friends from his band, 5 Seconds of Summer, coming out of the record store next to the busy ice cream shop. He was wearing a white button up shirt, black dress pants, and dressy-looking boots. Calum, his friend, was dressed in black skinny jeans, a pink-ish red shirt with a logo I can't recall on it, and similar boots. 

He was holding a white plastic bag, with the record shop's logo on it. It bounced against his thigh as he walked. He was smiling, looking at Calum, listening to him talk. At one point he laughed and turned away from Calum - making eye contact with me, who was still desperately licking the orange creamsicle as if my life depended on it. Talk about awkward. 

Him and I made eye contact - his gaze was so shocking that I froze and dropped my ice cream, it landing on my feet. I swore loudly. He stopped walking, just stood there, 5 feet away from me, watching me. I fumbled around for my napkins I had placed on the stone wall I was leaning against and tried to wipe my feet. My face burned and I kept it down, occupied on cleaning myself so I didn’t notice him coming toward me. 

“Hi there.” He said, his voice soft. I looked up. His eyes were beautiful and enchanting. 

“Hi.” I said, flustered. 

He looked down at me trying to clean off my feet. 

“Sorry about your ice cream.” He said.

“It’s not your fault. I dropped it. I shouldn't have been eating it out here, it’s too damn hot.” 

He smirked and said “It’s not that hot to me.” 

“Oh? Why is that? I’m wearing a blouse and shorts, and you're in black dress pants and you’re telling me you’re not dying?” 

He laughed. 

“No, I’m not dying, I’m used to heat like this. I grew up in Australia, I’m Australian.” 

“Oh, that makes sense.” I said, and stopped messing with my feet. Now they were sticky and there wasn’t much else I could do other than go home and shower it all off of me - the sweat, the stickiness, the embarrassment of this moment. 

I threw my napkins in a trash bin next to me, and I stepped forward a few steps, making me closer to him and out of the shade. I placed my sunglasses over my eyes. 

“I have to go. I’m all gross and tired and in dire need of a shower.” I said. 

“Oh, alright.” He said. 

I smiled and started to turn away, but he stopped me. 

“Wait,” he said. “What’s your name?” 

“What’s yours?” I said in reply. 

He smiled and said “Ashton. Ashton Irwin.” I smiled back and gave him my name the same way he said his. 

"I'm Natalie. Natalie Cipriano." 

“Can I get your number? I’d love to take you out for ice cream sometime, preferably in a place with AC.” He said. 

I smiled again, but softly. I felt a blush coming on my face. 

“I just met you. I don’t know you, why should I trust you?” I said. 

He frowned a bit. 

“It’s just a date, in a public place - with ice cream and AC. What more could you want?” 

I moved my head side to side, as if I was really thinking about it. I wasn’t, I knew from the moment he said his name that I didn’t want to leave him. Of course I wanted to go on a date with him.

“I...suppose you have a point. I’ll give you my number.” I said, and put out my right hand for his cell phone. At least it wasn’t sticky like my left hand was. 

His eyes widened a bit. 

“Demanding, much?” He said, smirking again. I wanted to kiss that smirk off his face, which was crazy, because I’d only just met him. 

“A bit.” I said and gave him a sweet smile as he dug out his phone from his pocket, opened contacts and gave it to me. 

I entered myself in, and added an ice cream emoji at the end of my name. I handed it back to him - our fingers brushed. It felt like electricity, I instantly wanted to touch him more. My face got hot - what was this? I was never like this. I’ve thought boys were hot, girls too, but I’ve never felt instant attraction like this. I decided to shrug it off as the heat. The heat and my failed attempt at eating ice cream had messed with my hormones. Yeah, that was totally it. 

I stood there for a few seconds, unsure of what to do, what to say. I just watched him type on his phone, watching his fingers move fast and mentally cursing the sun. 

All of a sudden my phone vibrated - I’ll admit, I jumped a little. Thankfully, he didn’t notice. 

[unknown number] hi there, ice cream girl! aussie boy here 

I smiled at my phone and bit down on my lip. I added him to my contacts, then texted him back. 

[me] hi aussie boy, what’s the weather like down there? 

He replied almost instantly. 

[ashton irwin] shouldn’t you say “what’s the weather like up there” ? i’m way taller than u 

[me] i was making an aussie joke, aussie boy 

[ashton irwin] ohh I’m dumb. anyway 

He clicked his phone off and put it in his pocket. 

“I’ll text you when and where, okay?” He said. I agree, and said 

“I’d like if you texted me before then. Just so I can get to know you a bit and feel more comfortable - I don’t normally do this kind of thing, like, ever.” 

He nodded. 

“I understand, I really do. I’ll text you later, alright?” 

“Alright.” 

There was a few seconds of empty silence between us, with each of us looking at the other. It didn’t feel awkward or embarrassing...it felt okay. Which was strange, because we’d just met. 

“I have to go. Shower. Take a nap. Go somewhere with AC.” I said. 

“Oh, yeah, of course. Sorry to keep you!” He said. 

“It’s okay. You weren’t keeping me.” I said, looking up into his eyes. They were such a pretty, soft brown and they looked so kind. 

“Ashton.” A voice said. It was his friend, Calum, who happened to be the same height as Ashton. At 5’4, I was an elf compared to them. 

Ashton turned and looked at him, for a second it looked like he forgot he was there, forgot he was waiting for him on a busy sidewalk on a hot summer’s day.

“Calum!” He said, a bit loudly with a hint of nervousness. He gripped Calum’s shoulder with one hand and turned him toward me. 

“This is Natalie. Natalie, this is Calum. Calum, I just met her. We’re going to go for ice cream!” Ashton said, very quickly and happily. 

A look of confusion formed on Calum’s face. 

“Right now? We were going to get lunch, dude!” Calum said. 

"No, not right now!” He laughed. Someday, we’re in the planning stages right now.” 

“More like the meeting stages.” I said. That made his smile fade a bit. Fuck, I thought to myself, though unsure why I cared about his smile fading. I had only just met him. 

“Look, Calum, Ashton, it was great to meet you, but I’m going now. Have a nice lunch.” I said with a smile, then turned around and left, not looking back. I couldn’t bare it for some reason unknown to me.

I left him standing there with a whisper of a strange feeling in my chest. 

“Bye, ice cream girl!” I heard him call out, as I rounded the block. What a strange day, I thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i've never written 5sos fanfic before so um pls be nice uwu
> 
> also, i had to ride in a car for 5 hours going home a few days ago and thought of an entire story to keep me awake. this was that story, and i hope you will enjoy it as much as i did thinking of it. 
> 
> drop a comment if u want ig!!


	2. put your head on my shoulder

Ashton didn’t text me until two weeks later, and I didn’t text him. I was too nervous, and as the days went on, I started to assume that he had forgotten about me or decided to forget the whole “let’s text each other and get to know each before we go on a date!” thing.

MONDAY, AUGUST 10TH

[ashton irwin]: hey! Natalie! i am so sorry that i haven’t texted you sooner, work has been super busy and hard lately and i’ve been throwing myself headfirst into it like a fool in love  
[me]: oh hi ashton! it’s totally cool, i completely understand!  
[ashton irwin]: you do? you really do, and you’re not mad?  
[me]: yes i definitely understand! i get what it’s like to throw yourself into your work, especially when you love it so much, because i do that with my job. i’m a fashion-photographer for a magazine and the work is harder than you’d expect, but it’s ok because i enjoy it so much. also i’m not mad at all, i promise!  
[ashton irwin]: thank you for understanding. it really helped lessen my worries haha. Anyway. you’re a fashion photographer? that’s so cool! i’m a musician, a drummer/singer/songwriter in a band  
[me]: oh man, i love music! what kind of band is it?  
[ashton irwin]: our sound has changed and evolved over the years, but, right now i can confidently say we’re pop-rock with 70s-80s inspiration  
[me]: that sounds amazing! i’d love to hear your band sometime  
[ashton irwin]: i’ll show you some of our songs when we meet up for ice cream :-)  
[me]: oh wasn’t that smooth, huh  
[ashton irwin]: ;-)  
[me]: glad u didn’t forget about it  
[ashton irwin]: of course not! It includes two of my favorite things: ice cream and being with a pretty girl  
[me]: (blushing emoji)  
[me]: i gtg back to work  
[me]: text u later!  
[ashton irwin]: yeah same  
[ashton irwin]: bye natalie  
[me]: bye ashton

I rushed back to work, with a smile on my face and a lightness in my heart. Again I wondered, what was this? I felt like I had a connection with him, and yet we’d only just met, only just started talking. Maybe I was just making it all up. Maybe I was so desperate for love that of course I would start to attach myself to the first person that showed interest in me. I don’t know, because somewhere, deep down, was a tiny flicker of hope, of knowing that this was the start of something extraordinary.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14TH

[me]: what’s your favorite color? I’m on lunch break and curious  
[ashton irwin]: red. What’s yours?  
[me]: pink, yellow, brown, and purple  
[ashton irwin]: you’re a girl with four favorite colors. somehow i feel like that fits you very well  
[ashton irwin]: my turn. what’s your favorite movie?  
[me]: i didn’t know we were taking turns? i was just genuinely curious about your favorite color...as a fashion-photographer, you know  
[ashton irwin]: well i’m genuinely curious about you  
[me]: rebel without a cause, casper, baby driver, and my own private idaho  
[ashton irwin] of course you have four favorite movies  
[me]: (awkward happy smiling emoji)  
[me]: yours?   
[ashton irwin]: pursuit of happyness  
[ashton irwin]: sunsets or sunrises?  
[me]: both are lovely when it’s quiet  
[ashton irwin]: another unexpected answer  
[me]: sorry  
[ashton irwin]: don’t apologize, i love this

I didn’t respond to him after that text because my heart was feeling weird and I had editing to get back to. Only a part of the work a fashion-photographer does takes place in shooting, the rest is in editing the photos to make sure the colors are correct, the angle, the exposure, and other things.

After a few hours of editing, with the sun setting, I was finally able to go home to my apartment. It was a studio with white walls, cold black floors covered in pale pink rugs, and had big windows overlooking the city with pale pink curtains. I loved it with every part of my being and after all those hours of sitting at a desk, endlessly clicking away at my computer, I just wanted to take a hot bath and sleep until morning.

I had the bath, but wasn’t able to fall asleep. I twisted and turned in my bed, the moonlight peaking through my curtains, falling on my white summer blanket. I couldn’t get comfortable, and it was so confusing, because normally after work it takes no time at all for me to fall asleep once I’m in bed. 

I sighed loudly and rolled over to the side of my bed with my nightstand where my phone was. I picked up and clicked it on, immediately regretting because it was so bright. I dimmed the screen brightness down all the way and checked the time - 11:58 PM. Nearly midnight and I couldn’t fall asleep. I hated this and didn’t know what to do, so I scrolled through my notifications. It was all the usual stuff - “x liked your post, x RTed your tweet, Gmail, Gmail, Gmail.” I didn’t care about any of that stuff right now, and was going to shut off my phone when I noticed one unlike the others - a text from Ashton a few hours ago that I didn’t notice receiving. Damn it. I opened it immediately.

[ashton irwin]: did i make things weird?   
[me]: no i just got busy with work

I sent a short text and clicked off my phone, placing it back on the nightstand after checking the time again. 12:05 AM. I hated this, and started to make up a story in my head. When I was younger in high school, making up stories helped me fall asleep every night. Usually they were cheesy self-insert love stories featuring whatever boy of the month I was obsessed with, but they still worked. This time, I started to think about a TV show I liked, one set in a post-apocalyptic world about one hundred teenagers being sent to the ground to see if the Earth was livable again. Spoiler alert: it was. 

My phone vibrated and I jumped, breaking me from the story I was starting to create in my head. I instantly grabbed it - it was 12:09, and Ashton had texted me back.

[ashton irwin]: oh, alright

I texted him back quickly, biting down on my bottom lip to suppress a smile.

[me]: why are you awake?

I didn’t think he would text me back, but he did.

[ashton irwin]: late night rehearsal for a show tomorrow night, just finished   
[me]: oh. Sorry to bother you then, go take a shower and sleep  
[ashton irwin]: already showered, just got out  
[me]: sleep!!!  
[ashton irwin]: why are u telling me to sleep when ur not sleeping yourself?  
[me]: ……………  
[ashton irwin]: i’m right  
[me]: shush  
[ashton irwin]: no way  
[me]: yes way  
[ashton irwin]: seriously. why are you awake?  
[me]: i can’t fall asleep tonight. i don’t know why  
[ashton irwin]: want to facetime?  
[me]: sure

I jumped up, pathetically attempted to fix my hair, and turned on the lamp on my nightstand. I also plugged in my phone to my charger.  
He rang, and my heart jumped. I hadn’t seen him since our first meeting, and I’d been picturing his face in my mind every day since.

I swiped to answer it, and there he was. His hair was wet, and he was shirtless except for a white towel resting on his shoulders. The lighting in his room was a warm yellow, contrasting against my white light. He smiled, and I couldn’t help to smile back.

“Hi Ashton!” I said.

“Natalie. Hello!” he said.

I couldn’t help myself from smiling again, because he was so cute and so I bit my bottom lip again. 

“How are you?” he said.

“I’m tired. I want to fall asleep...but obviously I can’t.”

“Well, let’s just talk until you do.”

“Alright.”

We talked for a hour and a half, mostly about our day and what exactly we did in our jobs. I told him about mine, as boring as it was, and he told me about his, his voice smooth and soft. I ended up laying down on my bed, curled up on my side, with the phone next to me, just listening to him talk.

Before I knew it, it was morning and he was calling my name.

“Natalie. Natalie. Wake up. Wake up!”

I woke up and was confused, then noticed my phone still propped up next to me, Ashton’s face still on the screen. It was morning, and sunshine was streaming through my curtains.

“What...what time is it.” I said, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I picked up my phone, looking at Ashton.

“It’s 6:04 AM. We must have fell asleep.”

“Oh wow. I’m sorry.”

“For what? We were both tired, it happens.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks for waking me up, I have to get to work early.”

“No problem. You mentioned that last night, and I guess my body remembered it so I could wake up early enough to wake you up.”

“Bless your internal body clock.”

“I know, right.”

I smiled at him.

“This was nice, but I really need to start my day.”

“Me too.”

“I’ll text you later? Maybe?’ 

“Maybe.” He said with a smile.

We stayed like that for a few seconds, smiling at each other.

“Okay. Bye-I mean. Good morning Ashton.”

“Good morning Natalie.” 

I clicked the Facetime call off and sat there, in bed, smiling like a fool. I had...in a way, slept with Ashton. In a completely non-sexual way, of course. And it was nice, he helped me fall asleep when I couldn’t. I felt like an indescribable feeling. This boy, this guy who I only just met two weeks ago had already made my life different and better. 

I was a fool, I was pathetic, I was desperate, I was a million stupid things but I couldn’t help it. I liked what I was feeling and I didn’t want it to stop. I was excited, I was happy and it was wonderful because I hadn’t felt this way in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second chapter, impulsively written by yours truly.
> 
> again, i've never written fanfic before so i'm sorry if this sucks!

**Author's Note:**

> hi i've never written 5sos fanfic before so um pls be nice uwu
> 
> also, i had to ride in a car for 5 hours going home a few days ago and thought of an entire story to keep me awake. this was that story, and i hope you will enjoy it as much as i did thinking of it.


End file.
